A Christmas Centrepiece
by XOXheartAmy
Summary: Festive X-Men fun. Mainly Romy but touches on Anlocke, Tabietro, Jonda, Kiotr, OroLo, Jott, Kurmanda and... I think that's all... ENJOY!


**Merry Christmas, Happy Chanukah/Hanukkah, Eid Mubarak and Joyous Kwanzaa to y'all! I just feel the need to point out that even though this is a Christmas (or Hanukkah in Kitty and Mags' case, and Kwanzaa in Storm's) oneshot and present to you, I don't actually celebrate any of the aforementioned. I was Baptised but I'm Pagan and, therefore, celebrate Yule (20th December). Since Christmas is actually from Yule after Christians neglected to record the actual date of Jesus' birth, they borrowed Yule, and I celebrate Christmas as "Yule II", the rather dodgy sequel full of drunk people, bad singing, and Jenny C miming a fish shape with her hands for the question "what is the smallest cell in the human body" in our biology quiz, meaning it to be 'sperm' but for Holly D to ask: "Uhh... Fish...?".  
So, Happy Yuletide from me in Scotland! (Yay, we got snow!)**

**Lots of cuteness with couples and mistletoe (aww)!**

**_Style Key:_**

"text" speech  
_"text" _thoughts

* * *

**** Christmas Day, 2009 ****

Snow fell gently onto the already thick blanket covering Bayville, New York. Sitting in the kitchen of the prestigious Xavier Institute for Gifted Youngsters (or Mutant High) were Jean Grey, a mutant with telepathic and telekinetic powers, and Kitty Pryde, who could 'phase' through solid objects, putting the finishing touches to the centrepiece for the Christmas/Kwanzaa/Hanukkah dinner Storm was currently cooking for that night. It was the Xavier Mansion in miniature, with each of its inhabitants carefully sculpted from clay: the teachers plus Warren, Scott, Jean and Magneto - who had recently joined the X-Men in an attempt to fix his past mistakes - sitting on, or next to the Professor's case, a bench in the grounds, drinking cocoa and watching mini-Piotr paint mini-Kitty who was sitting next to a snow-covered tree; the New Mutants and the Morlocks - along with Spyke - have a snowball fight; and Kurt and his human girlfriend, Amanda, skating on the deep-frozen pond. The only person missing was...

"Rogue! Have you, like, finished with your model yet 'cause we, like, have to put it in now."

Rogue had come to the girls three days prior to the near-completion of the centrepiece and taken a few lumps of clay of clay, telling the that she wanted to fashion her own likeness. Naturally, they agreed to that. It had been an incredible achievement for them to get Rogue to ditch the Goth makeup and clothes after she had woken up one morning with full control over her powers but they had been unable to get her to participate in Mansion activities such as this, with her preferring to sit on the sidelines and read. Until now.

She held up a little cardboard box. "Ah was gonna put it in mahself. Ah want y'all tah be surprahsed." _"And what a surprise it'll be,"_ she added to herself as an afterthought.

"Like, sure. Just cover it with the sheet and put it in the cuboard next to the fridge when you're done."

"We don't want Bobby and Ray accidentally destroying it if they bring one of their silly fights in here!"

The three girls laughed until Jean and Kitty left. Storm watched out of the corner of her eye as Rogue busied herself with the sculpture until the Mississippian had finished and, as she had promised, covered it with a sheet and hid it in the cuboard. She left the room with a jaunty "see yah latah, Storm" and the older woman resisted the urge to peek at what Rogue had been so secretive about.

It was going to be such a shock.

**** Three Days Ago (December 22nd)****

She loved waking up like this: toasty warm in her (secret) lover's arms. She loved hearing him say "_Bon matin_, Rogue, _ma chere_". She loved rolling over to kiss him good morning only for her to come into contact with a certain part of his anatomy and get a _very_ thorough 'good morning'. God, she loved being able to touch.

"_Bon matin_, Rogue,_ma chere_."

As per usual, she rolled over to meet his gaze, only to find him fully dressed under the sheets with her. She checked own state of clothedness **(AN: I think it's a word. If it's not, it should be)**... Yep, completely naked, just they way he had been last night...

"We're s'posed tah have sex now." She pouted, hoping that, that would magically lift the red button-down shirt from his sculpted chest.

"An' y're s'posed t' have done y're Christmas shoppin'."

She groaned. Damn Cajun. She hated the mall with a passion, all that overpriced, commercialised crap. This was one of the things she missed about living down South. Down there, you could buy unique items that were so beautifully crafted you thought you might cry just looking at the way you could see the faintest of tool marks on the links in the necklaces. Up here: completely different.

"Ah hate shoppin'. Can't yah with no clothes on be mah present?"

He chuckled. It was a warm sound, rich as dark chocolate with just a hint of honey sweetness. God, she loved his voice. "Dat's only part of y're present. De ot'er part lasts longer."

"We could go on all day." Now she was getting desperate... Although the thought of having sex with Remy _all day_ was very, _very_enticing. "We've both got a lot of energeh..."

"Up."

She growled and he chuckled again.

-

"This isn't thah way tah thah mall."

"'Course it's not. We're goin' t' a Christmas market."

"Realleh?!"

"_Oui_."

She could tell by his tone that he was smirking. After about half an hour, they had arrived.

It was beautiful. Little stalls selling everything imaginable were scattered here and there, a little coffee kiosk stood to one side, benches were situated next to a skating rink... It was perfect.

"C'mon, y' should b' able t' get everyt'ing here. Dey started dis a while back an' I knew dat y' hate de mall. B'sides, it's extra Chris'massy."

"It's wonderful!"

They walked around the stalls for a bit - Remy didn't even steal anything - until they happened across a Native American woman selling beautiful, hand-crafted jewellery made with varous semi-precious gemstones. A delicate silver necklace with a single piece of Rose Quartz caught her eye.

"Oh mah Gawd, that's perfect for Kitty!"

"It's $20 for a necklace, $10 for bracelets and anklets, and $5 for earrings."

"Who're y' buyin' f'r, _chere_? I don' t'ink y'll b' able t' afford somet'ing f'r ev'ryone."

"Ah got Ororo for Secret Santa but ah'm buyin' something for Kurt, Logan an' Kitty anehway since Kurt's mah brother, Logan's lahke mah father, an' Kitty's mah best friend."

"Ororo's de African one wit' de weather powers, _oui_?"

"Yeah."

"I t'ink I spotted a coupla stalls selling t'ing f'r Kwanzaa. Y' could get her somet'ing from dere."

"Okay." She turned to the seller. "Can ah have thah Rose Quartz necklace, please?"

The woman nodded and took the item, placing it in a jewellery box. "Would you like it wrapped? It's free."

"No thanks, ah can do that at home."

The woman smiled and handed Rogue the box. Rogue gave the woman the $20 and she and Remy left in the direction of the Kwanzaa stalls.

-

They wandered around the market for a few hours, drinking hot chocolate, eating gingerbread and buying presents. Rogue had found a cigar box for Logan and beer tanker for Kurt - he was now legally able to drink - both of which she had, had engraved with 'Merry Christmas to Logan (or Kurt, depending on who the gift was for), Love from Rogue'; and a handwoven shawl for Ororo. Remy had found a Zippo lighter for John, with his name and the Australian flag engraved on it; and a set of watercolour paints for Piotr. The only presents left to get were, well, for each other.

"Hey, Rem, ah spotted a stall sellin' roasted chestnuts. Could yah go an' get some for meh?"

"O' course, _ma cherie_. Anyt'ing f'r y'."

While he was gone, she rushed to the stall selling what she knew would be the perfect present for him. Arranging for it to be delivered to the mansion the next day, she quickly purchased a double photo frame and made the same arrangement. She then rushed back to where he had left her, just in time for him to return there and hand her a bag of chestnuts. Had she looked closely, she would have seen him slip his hand briefly into his pocket, just to make sure his gift to her was safe.

**** December 24th ****

"_Bon matin_, Rogue, _ma chere_."

This time, when she rolled over, Remy was as naked - and ready - as herself, and the spend several hours making sure they were definitely awake. They spent the morning in their usual way: after their 'wake-up call', they showered (another wake-up call followed), and then Remy cooked breakfast for them (beignets and coffee), before he drove her to the end of Greymalkin Road (he couldn't risk dropping her off inside the Mansion grounds, or even just outside, in case Wolverine caught him) where she kissed him goodbye and he told her when he'd pick her up next day. The only difference today was that after she'd kissed him goodbye, she suddenly asked, "Will yah spend Christmas with meh?"

Remy smiled and kissed her again. "O' course, _mon amour_, _mais_ y' could've tol' m' sooner." He chuckled. "Y' didn't give m' a lot o' time t' get ready!"

"Ah meant at thah mansion. Magneto always insists on there bein' an extra place set in case of an 'unexpected visitor'. Apparently, it's a Polish tradition**#**. We normalleh start dinner at 7pm so if yah turned up just after 7pm, but don' tell meh when, that counts as unexpected."

"Y' sure, _chere_? I don' t'ink I'll b' able t' pretend dat dere's not'ing 'tween us..."

"Then don'. It's tahme for everehone tah know that we're tahgether... An' if Logan blows his top, yah can hahde behahnd meh."

He grinned again before kissing her once more and said, "Okay, den. F'r y'."

She hugged him and waved goodbye to him as she walked the rest of the way to the Mansion.

**** Back To The Present (Christmas Day, 2009) ****

Logan had disappeared into the kitchen to get more alcohol for the adults but Warren and his girlfriend, Besty, said they'd spotted Wolverine kissing Storm. To everyone old enough to understand, it was cute, and Rogue was happy for them, but according to the New Mutants, it was gross. Scott and Jean were making kissy-faces over their mugs of cocoa, the New Mutants and Morlocks were playing charades (Torpid was having a lot of fun playing a game where no one had to speak), Rogue was sitting by the window watching the snow. The smell of sulphur and brimstone permeated the air as Kurt teleported into the room with Amanda, who was completely unfazed by the apparent chaos of Christmas at the mansion. Kitty was curled up against Piotr like her namesake, watching a Christmas movie. The doorbell rang and Hank and the Professor went to greet Magneto who had just arrived with John, Wanda and Pietro. Tabitha spotted her boyfriend entering the foyer and rushed to greet him, knocking him on his back into the snow just outside and thoroughly kissing him. Pietro looked pretty pleased with himself. The much more conserved John and Wanda sat down with Piotr and Kitty after putting the gifts they had brought under the huge tree in the corner of the drawing room. Everyone was surprised when Logan went to the door with a grin on his face and hugged the dark-skinned girl standing there. X-23 looked around the room at everyone before smiling slightly at Rogue and sitting next to her after saying rather quietly, "My name's Laura, now." Among the other guests now arriving were Nick Fury; Logan's old army buddy, Steve Rogers, who, after they had found the cure of Operation: ReBirth, had been taken off-ice; and Storm's sister, Vi, and brother-in-law. A couple of minutes later, Storm herself entered the room and announced that dinner was ready. Rogue took a deep breath and made sure that she was next to the empty place. This was it.

Jean unveiled the centrepiece with a flourish and there was an astonished gasp. The teachers, Warren, Scott, Jean and Magneto drinking cocoa; Piotr painting Kitty; the New Mutants and Morlocks having a snowball fight; Kurt and Amanda skating... And Rogue standing in the doorway of the Mansion kissing a trench-coated person under a minuscule sprig of mistletoe. Logan growled, so did Kurt, Kitty shrieked.

"Oh my God, that's, like, Gambit! That's his trench coat!"

Logan and Kurt growled louder; Magneto, John and Piotr had looks on their faces that said 'I _knew_ he had the hots for her!'; and Rogue smiled happily. The hysteria at the centrepiece died down eventually but, just before Kurt began his prayer for the Christians, Kitty's for the Jews, and Storm's for the Africans, the doorbell rang. Everyone looked up and down the table to see if everyone had arrived. They had. Rogue merely stood up and went to the door. The rest of the room went silent as they listened to Rogue talk to whoever was there - and then the unmistakable sound of kissing. Not a moment later, Rogue reentered the room with a tall, handsome Cajun following her. They sat down together, oblivious to the stares everyone was giving them, and he kissed her and muttered, "_Joyeux Noël_, Rogue," before turning to the others and saying, "_Et Joyeux __Noël _t' all of y'."

Everyone who wasn't Kurt or Logan replied with either 'Merry Christmas', 'Happy Hanukkah', or 'Joyous Kwanzaa'. They replied with grunts and threatening stares. Once the alcohol was dished out, however, they lightened up a bit.

-

After dinner, presents were handed out. Rogue received an elegant green dress for her Secret Santa, earrings and a necklace from Logan who told her that Storm helped him pick them out, a plane ticket to Germany to visit the Wagners at New Year, and Kitty gave her a _Classic Novels_ box set; Storm loved her shawl; and Kurt, Kitty and Logan were thrilled at their gifts. Rogue smiled softly at Remy and handed him her gift. He exclaimed in delight and hugged her tightly when he saw the A3-sized, framed playing cards: the King and Queen of Hearts, personalised with photos of them. Then it came to his gift. He walked over to the tree and removed something from a branch. Then, after apologising to the Professor for breaking in earlier to put it there in the first place, he got down on one knee in front of Rogue (Logan and Kurt growled again) and proposed. Needless to say, Rogue accepted.

**** Christmas Day, 2025 ****

Remy LeBeau smiled happily as he watched his youngest son, Olivier, engage in a fierce snowball fight with his eldest, Jacques, through the window. His daughter, Jacques' twin sister, Sylvie, was building a snowman nearby with Lucie Rasputin, looking a lot like her mother with her emerald eyes flashing when one of the stray lumps of snow knocked the hat from its head. He wrapped his arm around his dozing, 6-months-pregnant wife, remembering that Christmas 16 years ago. He stroked his fingers through Rogue's platinum streaks, kissing her hair. She stirred and her hand dropped to her engorged belly

"Y' okay, _mon amour_?"

"Ah'm fahne, hun. Sophie's just a damn good kicker."

He grinned and kissed her again. He was an X-Man, husband, and father-of-three, soon to be four once Rogue delivered little Sophie-Anne - all because of that Christmas, the best day of his life.

* * *

**# I found this in a book by Cathy Cassidy called _Angel Cake_. I'm not 100% sure is it's an _actual_ Polish tradition but it works for the story so...**

**Merry Christmas/Happy Hanukkah/Joyous Kwanzaa/Eid Mubarak/Happy Yuletide! Hope you had fun!  
**


End file.
